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NH

Teresa

Leger Fernandez

Democrat
NM
-3
Santa Fe, Farmington, Clovis
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Teresa Leger Fernandez

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Personal Background

Birthdate

7/1/59 (61)

Race/Ethnicity

Hispanic/Latinx

Gender Identification

F
Twitter

@TeresaForNM

Religion

No Religion Listed

Family

Divorced, 3 children

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

B.A. in Latin American Studies, Yale University; Graduate work, Economic Development and Planning, University of Texas at Austin; J.D., Stanford University

KEY HEALTH LINK

Leger Fernandez is a breast cancer survivor, and she often wears a butterfly necklace that reminds her of her sister and mother, who both passed away from lung cancer.

Political/Professional Background

LEGISLATIVE EXPERIENCE

White House Fellow under the Clinton Administration; Vice Chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation under the Obama Administration

2020 ELECTION CONTEXT

Leger Fernandez won the Democratic primary up against 6 other Democrats, most notably Valerie Plame, a former CIA officer whose identity was published shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. She ran against Republican Alexis Johnson to succeed Democrat Ben Ray Luján, who chose to run for one of New Mexico’s U.S. Senate seats.

INCUMBENT REPLACED

Ben Ray Luján (D), declined to seek re-election in order to run for U.S. Senate in New Mexico

MOST RECENT PROFESSION

Counsel and Strategist, Leger Law & Strategy

POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY

Legar Fernandez is a practicing lawyer working on impact litigation, financing, tribal law, business development, leasing, policy development, civil rights, voting rights, and cultural preservation. Leger Fernandez served as a White House Fellow under the Clinton Administration and as Vice Chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation under the Obama Administration. This was Leger Fernandez’s first run for office.

On The Issues

COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Leger Fernandez supports additional federal funding for testing and contact tracing infrastructure. In addition, Leger Fernandez supports additional COVID-19 stimulus spending, including funding for sectors such as infrastructure and clean energy. She wants to see disaster relief cost sharing and more governmental support for Indigenous peoples. She also wants the next COVID package to increase funding for safety-net hospitals and rural health clinics. She believes any testing paid for by the federal government should include all immigrants, inmates, nursing home residents and individuals experiencing homelessness.

HEALTH COVERAGE

Leger Fernandez supports Medicare for All and wants health care to be seperate from employment status.

MARIJUANA

No Info

MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION

Leger Fernandez believes, "We must treat drug and alcohol addiction as a health problem and provide medical treatment and social services to overcome the addiction." Leger Fernandez says that action on opioid addition is "close to my heart" because two of her brothers passed away due to struggles with addiction and substance abuse.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Leger Fernandez intends to work to lower the costs of prescription drugs "through negotiation [and] careful review of patent practices and manufacturing."

VETERANS HEALTH CARE

No Info

WOMEN’S HEALTH

Leger Fernandez is pro-choice and believes in total reproductive freedom. She believes Medicaid should cover all reproductive services, including aborition. She also believes that "Planned Parenthood and community health centers must be supported and fully-funded so that contraception is available and affordable, and breast and cervical cancer screenings are routinely provided. Women must have access to basic preventive health care that keeps them and, in turn, our families and communities healthy and thriving." Leger Fernandez has been endorsed by EMILY's List, NARAL Pro-Choice America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

OTHER HEALTH CARE ISSUES

No Info

DID YOU KNOW?

Leger Fernandez is part of the first state congressional delegation to be all women of color. Leger Fernandez’s mother, Mela Leger, was a bilingual educator, and her father, Ray Leger, served in the New Mexico State Senate during the 1970s. Both of Leger Fernandez’s parents are commemorated by a roadside plaque in Guadalupe County, New Mexico for their contributions to bilingual education.